It's Chess Daniel
by Xanadu-King
Summary: Danny's life is perfect. He has a girlfriend, everyone that matters accepts him for who he is. Even the Ghosts are less frequent. What happens then, when an old enemy returns? How will Danny confront his old foe? Rated T for some scenes of violence and innuendos.
1. Chapter 1

**It's Chess Daniel**

Chapter One

**Ending Events of Reign Storm**

Sweat ran down the side of Danny's face from exhaustion. "I…I don't understand?"

Vlad stood behind him holding the key to the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep. The denizens of the Ghost Zone stood behind Vlad grinning proudly at Danny's accomplishment. Vlad held is usual evil grin.

"What? That I used two fourteen year old pawns to turn a knight and topple a king? It's chess Daniel, of course you don't understand, but then, you never really did." Vlad's words faded as Danny blacked out.

**Six Months post Phantom Planet**

"Can you make room for your girlfriend?" Sam smiled at the raven haired teen. She wore her usual attire with the added edition of a heart shaped locket around her neck and a class ring with a cobalt blue stone placed in the center of it.

"Of course, I was wondering when you would show up." Danny returned her smile with the most charming smile he could pull off. Ever since Danny Phantom had become the world's savior, Danny Fenton's life had gotten a little better, people had warmed up to him more, and as such he was no longer one of the 'outcasts'. The entire world knew about his ghost powers. Other than that nothing much had changed for the halfa, once in a while Skulker would show up and try to, as he put it, 'Mount Danny's head upon his wall'. However most of the weaker ghosts had simply stopped appearing, many of whom, Danny figured, feared for their afterlives.

"Hey guys." Tucker walked over to the table carrying a tray full of meat. "So do you want to check out a movie later?" Tucker sat down, pulled out his PDA, and began checking his calendar. Once he had become Mayor, Tucker's life had become more hectic. Although since he was not of legal age to vote yet, and as such was only Mayor in image, he still had to pass or veto many major decisions. Pile that on top of having a relationship, Danny was impressed that he could keep it all managed.

"I don't know Tuck, are you even available? I mean you do have a city to manage and all." Danny prodded the gray mass that the cafeteria called food with his spork. He looked at it for a minute before pushing it away in disgust.

"Yes Danny, I do have time." Tucker said as he looked up from his PDA. "I have made time for everyone, along with the time to hang out with my friends, although Valerie has a day long window of time." Tucker's eyebrows arched suggestively.

"Yeah dude we don't need to know about that. We don't tell you about our love life do we?" Danny clenched his eyes shut in an attempt to erase the image of what had just transpired. Sam just laughed lightly. While Danny was trying to forget what his friend did, Valerie walked over to the table and sat down.

"Hey guys, so do we have any plans later?" Valerie picked up her burger as she spoke.

"We were planning on going to see a movie. That is if Tucker had the time." Sam joked as she stabbed her spork into the salad sitting in front of her.

"Hey it was my idea to go see a movie in the first place." Tucker retorted before shoving another helping of meatloaf into his mouth. Danny chuckled at Tucker's response. Everyone at the table knew that Sam did that just to get a reaction out of him.

"What movies are out that we would like to see?" Valerie said in between the bites of her burger.

"I know of one that I have been wanting to see." Danny beamed in excitement. Just as quickly as it had arrive, the feeling left again when the thought occurred to him that perhaps the girls would not want to see that movie.

"Well, come on man, what is the movie?" Tucker stopped eating just long enough to wait for Danny's answer.

"Well, now that I think about it, you girls might not want to see it. The movie I was hoping to see was 300." Danny smiled sheepishly believing that the movie he had suggested was a terrible idea.

"Sounds fun to me." Valerie said taking another bite of her burger. Sam nodded her head in agreement.

"Yeah I have been meaning to see that movie myself. If you guys want we can watch it at my house." Danny and Tucker grinned widely at Sam's suggestion, while Valerie had a perplexed look on her face.

"Wait, how can we see it at your house? It isn't even out on DVD yet." Tucker looked at Valerie for a moment before responding.

"Oh right, you don't know do you. Sam is rich, like loaded beyond belief. Her house has a bowling alley. Did I not tell you this?" Valerie's mouth dropped open.

"Uh no, you seemed to have left out the fact that one of your best friends was wealthy." Valerie glared at Tucker.

Later that evening the four friends were in the Manson family theater. The popcorn machine was running on full power. The bowling alley was open for after movie fun, and the Pizza had just gotten there.

"So you guys ready for an awesome movie of violence and bloodshed?" Sam gave her usual dark smile that would send chills down the spine of anyone who didn't know her. Tucker and Danny were elated and ran to their seats on the couch. Valerie on the other hand was still trying to take in all of the amazing stuff that Sam truly had.

"This is your basement?" Valerie's mouth hung open.

"Haha, that is what I said when I first saw it." Tucker laughed remembering how it was for him.

"Well what are we waiting for Sam, pop this sucker in and let the blood bath begin." Danny smiled enthusiastically as he took his seat on the large leather couch. The rest of the night was spent enjoying the excessive sex, blood, and gore in the film. While watching the movie Danny had, absentmindedly, placed his arm around Sam. Who repaid his action by leaning on him for the entire movie, something which Danny truly adored. Yes life was perfect for Danny Fenton, and the whole night was filled with those perfect things. At the end of the night, when he, Tucker, and Valerie finally left Sam's, Tucker went to walk home with Valerie leaving Danny alone with his thoughts. The cool night air in Amity Park was always rather comforting, even though it was early spring you could still see the last vestiges of winter attempting to lay claim to the land for a while longer. Turning into his Ghost form, Danny flew home and into his room. After a quick shower and changing into sleeping cloths, he lay down and slept soundly, which was something he had rarely done ever since he had become half ghost. Around midnight a cold chill ran down Danny's spine. It was his ghost sense, the useful tool for letting him know that a ghost was near, had awakened him from his restful slumber. Danny sighed at the lack of sleep he had gotten and got out of bed.

"Alright, let's do this. Going Ghost!" Danny called out his signature catch phrase as two rings of light engulfed him starting at his torso and spreading out until they completely transformed him from his normal sleep attire into his black with white accents Jump suit. Flying out of his bedroom window, Danny searched for the source of his Ghost Sense. To his surprise he could not sense any ghosts after exiting his house.

"What the? Skulker? No he is never so quiet. Who could this be?" Danny, although talking out loud, was talking to no one in particular. So he was startled to hear another voice answer him.

"Yes Daniel, who indeed." Danny turned around to see Vlad Plasmius floating just above his house.

"Vlad? What are you doing here? I thought you were stuck on the outskirts of the solar system?" Danny was barely able to contain the seething anger within him as he spoke to his arch nemesis.

"Oh and here I thought you were going to say 'Thank you Vlad for helping me become the greatest Hero the world has ever know.'" Vlad smiled darkly at Danny, his red eyes glowing in the night.

"What do you mean? You failed at saving the earth, so I stepped up and succeeded where you couldn't." Danny smirked at Vlad hoping to get a rise out of him. However Vlad did not react, in fact he remained quite stone face about the whole issue.

"Wow you truly are a dimwitted boy aren't you. That was part of my plan, I wanted to create the perfect Hero. One who could do everything I could not. Why? Simple, I needed a test subject, and you were the perfect guinea pig." Vlad paused momentarily to let that information sink in before continuing. "You see Daniel, you were never in control, I have been playing this game far longer than you have. I have seen the out comes, and I knew of this happening well before you did." As if on cue Vlad split himself into ten different Vlads. "I am far stronger than I let on Daniel. I only wished to give you a fighting chance because it was sporting." Vlad let out a maniacal laugh before the nine copies lunged at Danny. Doing his best to fight off the nine opponents he had, Danny dodged and weaved out of the way of each shot, delivering a few good shots himself.

"Come on Vald, we have done this so many times already. Do you really think the outcome will be any different than before?" Danny toted as he roundhouse kicked four of the Vlads square in the face, causing them to dematerialize back into the original. However Vlad merely smirked.

"You are not the only one who has ghost powers beyond the norm. While you get a cold chill run down your spine when a ghost is near, I get a flash of heat burn through my body." Danny almost broke out laughing at this.

"What are you a fifty year old woman?" Danny lightly chuckled. Vlad however ground his teeth in rage.

"Where you can control ice, I can control fire!" As he spoke a massive fireball grew in his hand. The five remaining Vlads grabbed Danny by the limbs and held him there as the original Vlad launched his attack. The fireball engulfed him in a ghostly flame. Danny cried out in agony as he felt his flesh seared by the inferno. "That is merely a taste of what I can do Daniel. Now I have a request of you, one which I know you can't refuse." The other five Vlads released Danny and kicked him into the ground. His impact causing a small pothole to appear in the street. As the five Vlads returned to their source the original spoke up. "You are going to go into the Ghost Zone, and get two more items for me. The Ring of Sovereignty, and The Belt of Eternity. If you don't do this I will burn all of Amity Park to the ground. My Spectral Fire, is only one of my true abilities. I have so many more, and to be honest, I have relished the chance to use my Black Inferno again." Vlad's wicked smile never faded. As Danny faded from consciousness Vlads final words rang out like a bell in his head. "Don't worry about your girlfriend either Daniel, if you do as I say she will be fine." With those words Vlad laughed maniacally before using his ghost powers to teleport away from the area. The next thing Danny saw was the inside of his room as his eyes slid open upon hearing a knock at the door.

"Danny, honey, are you okay? You are going to be late for school." Maddie knocked again. Danny sat up in bed and wondered if what happened last night was real. Bolting out of his bed he ran to the window. Much to his relief there was no damage to the street. Checking himself, he didn't notice any burns on his body. _It must have just been a dream,_ Danny thought to himself. "Danny!" His mother called a little louder. Not wishing to alarm her anymore, he stripped off his night clothes, threw on a clean shirt and pair of pants, and walked to the door. Upon opening it he saw his mother standing there in her usual blue jumpsuit.

"Hi mom, sorry for worrying you. Give me like five minutes and I will head to school." He smiled casually at her, which relieved some of her worry.

"Well alright honey, what about breakfast?" Even though she knew that Danny was a half ghost she still worried about him.

"It is alright, I will grab something before I leave. Okay?" Danny kissed her on the cheek before walking back to his closet to put on his socks and shoes.

Maddie smiled softly at this, why was she so worried, her son was the hero of the world. "Alright, I will get some eggs going for you." She turned away from the door and walked back down stairs. Once he finished putting on his shoes he phased through the floor and into the kitchen, startling Jazz.

"Eep!" She yelped slightly when he appeared on the other side of the table. "I wish you would stop doing that. It is one of the most disturbing things you can do." Jazz scowled at him.

"Hehe, sorry about that Jazz, but the day that it stops scaring you is the day I will stop doing it." Danny smiled broadly as Maddie paced a plate of eggs and bacon in front of him.

"Now Danny, we have talked about this, you are only supposed to use your ghost powers unless it is necessary. I don't believe you phasing through the floor is really necessary." Maddie scolded him lightly.

"Ahhh!" The three of them were startled by the shout that came from the basement. Jack stumbled up the stairs, black smoke surrounding him. "That darned machine hasn't worked since Danny did his whole phase the planet thing." Jack pulled up a chair at the kitchen table. "I don't know what it is but, ever since the events of the Desateroid, almost none of the ghost contraptions I have invented have worked right. The only things that still work are the Fenton Thermos and the Ghost Portal. Honestly, it's like everything ghost related has just stopped working." Jack looked at the table sadly.

"Is that really such a bad thing Jack?" Maddie walked up and placed her arm around him. "I mean there haven't even been any ghosts appearing since the event anyway. Well the exception being, what did you say his name was honey?" Maddie looked at Danny.

"Skulker, supposedly the greatest hunter in all of the ghost zone." Danny said nonchalantly.

"Right him. Only Skulker has shown up, and that is not even that common." This seemed to only make Jack more depressed.

"I don't know Maddie, I just feel like I have nothing to do since there are no Ghosts showing up." Maddie patted him on the back. Looking up she saw the time. "Oh Danny, you are going to be late, hurry up." Looking up himself, Danny saw the clock read 6:50.

"Ah crap, sorry guys gotta run!" Danny said as he wolfed down the rest of his food, grabbed his bag, and ran out the door. "See you after school!" He called back before jumping into the air and flying to school.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

As Danny arrived at school the bell had just rung. Rather than stopping off at his locker he ran straight to class. In the midst of running to class he nearly slammed into the Janitor, fortunately he had become much better at controlling his abilities and phased right through him. _How did I ever get by without Ghost powers?_ Danny wondered as he bound into class, taking his seat next to Sam and Tucker. Without all of the constant interruptions by ghosts, Danny found that School had become much easier, and less of a hassle, to deal with. But now he had an actual excuse for leaving class unannounced. The day went on rather uneventfully as time continued it's slow crawl towards the end of the day, by the time the Lunch hour rolled around Danny found himself dreading the next classes. While lazily eating the cafeteria food Sam snuck up behind him. Placing her hands in front of his eyes she playfully 'blinded' him.

"Guess?" Sam laughed lightly as she held his head to her chest.

"Um- Guess what? Sam I know it is you, what do you want me to guess?" He felt Sam open her hands slightly to reveal a rather impressive looking cake that had been placed in front of him.

"Happy Birthday!" Sam shouted along with Tucker and Valerie.

Danny nearly burst out laughing at this. "Guys, you know it is not even close to my birthday." In spite of this he still wanted a piece of the amazing looking cake. "Seriously what is this about?" He looked at his friends faces in expectation of an answer.

"Dude, we know it isn't your birthday, but it is the birthday of your Ghost powers! Three years ago today you first got your Ghost powers and became Danny Phantom. Which in retrospect was a terrible idea for a name. I mean come on your name is Danny Fenton, anyone with half a wit should have been able to figure it out." Tucker absentmindedly mused to himself, which caused an uproar of laughter from his three friends. After thinking about it for a minute Tucker started to laugh too.

"Well seeing as it is my 'birthday' today, do you guys want to do anything special tonight?" He looked at them, hoping to get a positive feed back. However both Tucker and Valerie gave him downtrodden glances.

"Sorry dude, but I actually can't tonight. There is a council meeting that the mayor is required to attend. I wish I could, but it will be from 6:00 pm till 9:00 pm. After that I have to finish my work on what to Veto or let pass. I will not be able to do anything once the school bell rings." Tucker made as sad of a face as possible, which elicited a small laugh from Danny.

"It is okay man, we spent the day together yesterday. It is not a huge deal, honestly I wasn't even aware that today _was_ my Ghost Day." Danny continued smiling. "What about you Valerie?"

"I wish I could Danny, but I am training on my Glider today. I have to keep in shape, just in case Danny Phantom needs any help." She smiled a small sad smile. Danny could tell that they both wanted to hang out with him but seriously couldn't.

"Look Val it is okay. You guys never had to do this in the first place. I am just glad that you thought to do this. What about you Sam? Any plans." Sam looked at him with a sad gaze.

"Sorry Danny, but I have an extensive art project I have been working on that I was hoping to finish this evening." Danny smiled softly.

"Well that is okay, then let's dig into this cake and have some fun today none the less." Danny made a small blade out of Ghost energy and sliced the cake into more manageable pieces.

"I am game for that." Valerie said as she sat down at the table.

"Dude, as if I would skip out on cake." Tucker stated gleefully as he pulled up the four trays he had brought for each of them.

"I would love to have some cake. Honestly it has been too long since I last had some." Sam smiled as she sat down, taking a tray for herself. For the next twenty minutes of lunch the quartet dined on delicious slices of cake. As the bell rang and the lunchroom emptied the four friends parted ways and started to return to their classes. Before Danny had a chance to walk to class he was pulled off to the side by Sam.

"Look Danny-" Sam paused for a moment, unable to formulate her words.

"What is it Sam?" Danny looked at her with a loving gaze, the same kind of gaze that told you everything was going to be okay.

"I lied earlier, I don't have anything going on this evening. I just didn't want Tuck or Val to hear because they might make assumptions. If you want, you can come over to my house later and we can play some video games." Sam looked at Danny hopefully.

"Sam Manson, I would love to." He smiled as he agreed to her proposal.

"Alright cool, I will see you after school then." Sam held back the urge to blush terribly.

"Yep see you then!" Danny shouted as he ran off to class. Later that day, after the four friends went their separate ways Danny flew home as fast as he could. He had only a couple of things to do before he went over to Sam's house. As soon as he phased into his room he got started on his homework right away. He finished it in a record time of only an hour and thirty minutes, afterwards he ran to the shower and cleaned himself up. Once his after school ritual was done he raced down the stairs to meet his family.

"Hey guys, sorry but I am going to be heading over to Sam's house. Don't wait up for me." Danny said as he quickly exited the door.

"Danny wait a minute..." Maddie called after him, but he was already gone.

"Oh come on Maddie, let him have his fun. Once he goes to college he might not get to see his friends as much as he would like." Jack returned to fiddling with the Fenton Fisher in hopes to get it working again.

"Well alright, I can't help but worry about him though. Even knowing full well who he is and what he can do I am still concerned." Maddie sat back down on the couch and picked up the book she was reading before Danny left.

"I know, I worry too, but we can't hope to know all of his where abouts at all times. So let him have his freedom while it lasts." Maddie looked at Jack in surprise, in all her years of knowing him she had never heard him say such profound or wise words. She laughed lightly, put down her book, stood up and walked over to him. Forcing him to put down what he was working on, she kissed him.

"Even after all these years Jack, you can still do things that remind me why I married you. Let's go to the bedroom." She winked seductively at him before dragging him along up stairs. Meanwhile, a few blocks away, Danny was just running up to Sam's door. After getting to the top step he rang the bell. At first no one answered the door, which Danny thought was a little odd. However, as he was about to ring it again, the door slid open. There in the door way stood Sam. But she looked a lot different than Danny was used to seeing. Danny's face flushed a deep crimson in color.

"Um, Sam, hi. What are you wearing?" As his eyes scanned her from head to toe, he noticed that she was no longer wearing her usual black T-shirt and purple skirt. Rather she had chosen to sport a fairly skimpy 'nurse' uniform, which helped to accentuate her most feminine features.

Sam was almost as red as he was, she thought she could do this but it was a lot more embarrassing than she had expected it to be. "Well I was not totally honest when I invited you over to my house. You see, my parents and grandma left for a week long vacation in the Bahamas this morning. They left me in charge of the house. Since I was in charge I sent most of the servants home for vacation for the week. The rest only work for about three hours a day keeping the house clean. So in essence, we have the whole house to ourselves. I had wanted to, well I guess you can tell what I wanted to do by looking at my clothes. However now that we are here I-" Sam's sentence was cut off as Danny placed his lips squarely against hers and pushed her back into the house. Sam at first was surprised, but let her emotions take control. As Danny walked in, he gently closed the door behind him.

By the time Danny ended up leaving Sam's house it was well past midnight, getting close to one in the morning. Danny didn't care though, this had been another amazing day for him. As he rounded a corner he heard a siren blaring in the distance. "Sounds like a fire engine." Danny whispered to himself. "Well, I don't really have anything to do, and my ghost powers might come in handy." Danny attempted to convince himself to go check it out, which, in all honesty, he didn't need much convincing. activating his ghost abilities, he flew off towards the sound of the engine. As he got higher up into the sky he noticed a building on the far edge of town, near where Freakshow had set up his Circus Gothica, fully ablaze. "I hope I can help." Danny said as he flew towards the burning building. A couple minutes later he landed next to, who he thought was, the Fire Chief. "What is going on here? Can I help?" Danny startled the Fire Chief slightly as he whipped around to find the source of the voice.

"Danny Phantom, in all my years. We aren't really sure what happened. This building was just recently constructed, even upgraded with the most high tech fire suppression system. Some how this thing still went up like a Roman Candle." The Fire Chief paused to shout orders to the other men in the Fire Brigade. "Look, from our reports there were twenty seven tenants in the building. However we only count twenty five, not including management. My men can't get close to the building, the fire is too hot, but perhaps you could get in there and see where the missing two tenants are." The Fire Chief looked, pleadingly, at Danny.

"I will do my best." Danny responded before flying into the building. Inside the building was a fiery hell hole. Danny had to phase through many objects just to not get burned. As he searched around he heard a small cry. Phasing through a burning door he found a small girl, clutching a teddy bear tightly in her arms, hiding underneath a marble table. _Clever girl._ Danny thought as he cautiously walked up to her. "Hi there, what is your name?" Upon hearing his voice the little girl looked up.

Noticing his snow white hair she immediately recognized him. "I- I am Sara." The girl paused and shrank back a little as the ceiling started to crack and buckle. Danny could tell the girl was terrified. Her voice trembled as she spoke. In an attempt to calm her down Danny tried to take her mind off of the current situation.

"So who is your friend there?" Danny said pointing to her raggedy teddy bear.

"His name is Mr. Tuffin, he protects me at night when I sleep." Danny gave her a big toothy grin at hearing that.

"You would never know it, but I had a stuffed animal just like him when I was your age." Sara's opened her eyes a little at hearing that.

"Really?" She said, her interest in Danny growing.

Danny smiled even wider, he could tell it was working. "Yep I called him Giant Man." Sara laughed at this.

"That is a silly name." Danny knew he had her then.

"Hey I was only five at the time." Sara giggled a little more then looked Danny square in the eye.

"Please, can you take me to my mommy. She told me to follow her but we got separated." Danny reached his hand out to her, and gave her his most relaxed smile he could muster in the current situation.

"Sure, grab my hand and we will go find her. Just hold on tight to Mr. Tuffin." As he spoke he made them both intangible and flew out of the building with her. Upon watching him exit everyone in the crowd cheered. The Fire Chief, along with a couple of Paramedics, ran up to Sara and took her out of his hands.

"Thank you son." The Chief went to shake his hand. However Danny refused.

"I can't there is still someone inside of the building. She only makes twenty six." As if on cue Sara started to cry. Wondering why, Danny ran over to her. "Sara what is the matter?"

In between the huge sobs and buckets of tears she uttered a few words. "Mommy... not here!" As she said this her crying became even more severe. Danny's eyes went wide at the realization. Without even acknowledging the other people around him he flew headlong back into the burning building.

"Hello? Is there anyone else here?" He called out into the inferno in hopes that someone would call back. To his horror no one did. "Can you hear me?" He called out once more in an attempt to find Sara's mother.

"I can hear you just fine Daniel." Danny nearly jumped at hearing his voice. The smooth, casual, tone in which he spoke was all too well known to Danny.

"Vlad! So I didn't just dream it." Danny said as he lunged at Vlad in the hope of catching him off guard. To his disappointment, Vlad caught his fist, and, as compensation for his attempted attack, delivered a punishing blow to Danny's abdomen. This caused Danny to buckle over in pain.

"Of course you didn't my dear boy. I meant what I said, and this building is only the start. Find me the objects I need and no one else will have to die." As Vlad said this he threw the corpse of a woman who looked to be in her mid to late twenties at him. Danny caught the woman only to realize how much she looked like Sara. "Believe me when I say Daniel, that the next one will be much, much, closer to home." Vlad let out another of his maniacal laughs only to conjure up rings of fire around him. When they fully surrounded his body he looked like a burning atom. Danny could only watch in vain as Vlad flung his arms wide, causing the rings of fire to erupt in every direction. The force of the attack was so great that it launched Danny through a nearby wall and onto the parking lot in front of the building. To everyone standing outside it was as if the fire had just hit a gas line as the whole building exploded in a blaze of glory that, to the fire fighter's distress, could not be put out. Everyone merely watched as the building incinerated itself. The Fire Chief and a few others witnessed Danny fly through the wall from the explosion and raced to help him. As Danny slipped from consciousness again he saw the Paramedics rush up to him in an attempt to heal any injuries he might have sustained. However none of their faces mattered, as his eyes fell upon Sara they both knew that he had failed. The last image he saw was that of tears welling up in Sara's eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

The voices were severely muffled. "mmfmmmfmmffffmmfm." He heard one of them say. As he tried to focus more on the voices they became clearer. "I am telling you I don't know anything!" He heard one of the voices shout. The voice sounded like it came from Sam.

"Sam, we don't think you were involved at all, but you were the last one to see him." Maddie's voice rang clearly though the haze as it slowly lifted.

"I am telling you I don't know anything, he left my house around 1A.M. He told me that he was heading back home. Knowing who he is I wasn't worried and I went to bed." Danny could hear that Sam had been crying. Why she had been crying he didn't know, but he knew he had to comfort her. As he attempted to reach the voices through the haze his eyelids started to flutter.

"I think he is coming to." He could clearly make out Tucker's voice in the group. As his eyes slid open he saw the white wash ceiling of a hospital room above him. Craning his neck down he saw that all of the people he cared about were standing around the bed. He had tubes attached to his arm, as an IV drip poured a small amount of blood back into his body. Along with the bag of B- blood was a saline solution, to keep him hydrated. Looking around he noticed everyones faces, Maddie and his sister Jazz had been crying. Jack holding his arms around both of the women he loved. Tucker stood over him with a big smile, one that said he was overjoyed to see him. Lastly his eyes fell on Sam, she had clearly been crying the most. With puffy red and bloodshot eyes, her makeup smearing her face heavily, she looked as though she hadn't slept since he last saw her.

"Hey guys, what is going on." Danny noticed that it was hard to speak and his tongue felt as dry as a piece of sandpaper. He coughed lightly as cold dry air filled his lungs. "Could I possibly get some water?" Before he even finished asking Maddie brought the straw to his lips. Taking a long sip, Maddie pulled it away before he could drink too much. "What happened?" He asked, however no one seemed to want to answer. Shouldering the responsibility Tucker spoke up.

"I don't know all the details dude, but from what we were told you were launched out of a building after the fire hit a gas line. The paramedics tried to treat your wounds, but many of the burns were second degree at least. The doctor says you will recover, but there will be some permanent scaring." With those words Danny inhaled slightly.

"Can I see?" He asked holing out his right hand for the mirror sitting on the table next to him. To his dismay he couldn't move his left arm. Sam picked up the mirror and slowly handed it to Danny. As he grabbed it she held his hand in her own for a second.

"Danny remember that no matter what. I love you." She said, almost mournfully, as he took the mirror out of her hand.

Danny held the mirror up to his face, only to find everything, except his eyes and mouth covered in bandages. Startled he put down the mirror and looked to his left only to see that his left arm, while still there, was completely covered in thick bandages. As he attempted to move it a sharp jolt of pain ran through him. "Danny don't try to move it." Jack stated coldly, he more commanded his son rather than tell him "The doctors did everything they could, but you broke your arm in three places. To top it off you lost your little and ring finger." Jack looked down at the ground as a few tears escaped his eyes. Danny could tell he had been trying to stay strong for everyone else there. Only now was that wall beginning to break. "I am sorry son, I am sorry I couldn't protect you." As Jack said this he fell to his knees and started bawling. Jazz and Maddie knelt down and attempted to get Jack off the floor. As Danny looked around more he noticed that it wasn't just his head and arm that were bandaged, but also his left leg was completely covered. Danny's face grew stern and he witnessed all of the damage done to him.

"How long have I been out for?" Danny questioned. This time however Tucker didn't have the heart to tell him so Jazz spoke up.

"Almost three days. The doctors were concerned you might be stuck in a coma. We knew better though, we knew you would pull through. Honestly though, Sam never left your side, she even forced the rest of us to go home and get some sleep while she kept watch over you." Jazz smiled her usual sweet smile. Danny looked over at Sam who grabbed his right hand and held it tightly.

"When I found out what happened I came a fast as possible. Danny-" Sam's sentence was cut short as new tears formed in her eyes. Not wishing to see the woman he loved in so much pain, Danny gently placed his hand upon her cheek and stroked it in the most comforting manor possible.

"Thank you Sam. Thank you so much." As Danny said this his eyes began to slide shut. He could hear everyone gasp in shock, as though they thought he might die. "Don't worry, I am not going anywhere any time soon. I have too much to protect." Danny smiled as he slipped from consciousness again.

"Protect us from what?" Danny heard Sam ask as he fell into a blissful sleep. As he slept he dreamt of a vast open expanse of nothing, it wasn't just dark, it was literally nothing. There was no ground beneath his feet and no sky above his head. No horizon that he could see, and nothing that he could hear.

"Hello?" Danny called out into the nothingness. As he expected he didn't even hear an echo.

"The Ghost Boy, who dreamt of the girl he loves has come at last to my world? What a pleasant surprise." Danny looked around for the source of the voice only to see nothing.

"Who is there?" Danny demanded. Still no answer came.

"Don't be afraid Ghost Boy, here you will be safe. Here _he_ cannot reach you." Danny wheeled around in circles looking for the source of the voice only to find nothing.

"Safe? Who would I need to be safe from?" Danny searched for the voice again will still no success. This time however the voice did not reply.

"So you wish it, so shall it be!" He heard Desiree say.

"I never made a wish? Who's wish are you granting?" Still no response came.

"I will mount your head on my wall Ghost Boy!" Skulkers common phrase he would often say sounded loudly in the vast expanse of nothingness.

"Skulker you have always failed at hunting me down. Why do you think you can start winning now?" Still no answers came, only more questions. "What is going on here? None of this makes any sense."

"Get up Ghost Boy! I will not hunt a prey that stays on the ground." Danny's head began to spin in the nothingness. "You want to rise again, then simply wish it. No, let the boy sleep, he needs to rest. Behind bars boy, you broke the rules. Beware..." Danny was starting to get freaked out. Even the warning given by the Box Ghost seemed genuine. He couldn't make heads or tails of the situation. Was he going mad? Was it all a trick? These questions raced in his head. Not knowing what to do he simply turned and ran, he didn't know where he was going but he just had to go. The nothingness began to vanish, above him appeared a sky filled with stars. They raced by as he kept running. He ran as far and as fast as he could until he came to a cliff edge. There on the precipice of the cliff he saw the nothingness again, however it was quickly washed away as it turned from nothingness into Amity Park. "You told me you would save her. You said you would!" Turning around Danny noticed the little girl, Sara, from before. She was still clutching Mr. Tuffin close to her chest.

"I am sorry Sara, I tried to save your mom, really I did. But there was this guy, he killed her before I could get to her." Danny got down on his knees as he pleaded with Sara to understand.

"Now Daniel, didn't I tell you not to tell anyone about me?" Vlad's voice called out as he appeared behind Sara.

"No, Vlad, you get away from her!" Danny growled.

"Too late." Vlad said with a devilish smile as he reached out and crushed Sara's neck with one hand. "You couldn't save poor Sara's mother, or her, just like how you couldn't save the rest of the town. Sorry Daniel, but I win again." Vlad spoke with a more regal tone in victory. While speaking he pointed behind Danny. As Danny turned back around he saw the entire town burning, only for it to fall to ash a few seconds later. "Good bye Daniel." Vlad said as he pointed a hand at Danny. Charging up an ectoplasmic energy blast he fired the purple beam at Danny.

Danny's eyes shot open, sweat dripping down his face. Feeling stronger than before, Danny got out of the bed and went into the restroom to clean off the sweat. As he entered the bathroom a light flickered on. Looking in the mirror he could see how badly damaged his body truly was. Beside having his arm and leg in tightly wrapped bandages, his faced looked like it had been hit with a fire poker. Danny, curious as he was, let out a soft sigh and began to unravel the bandages around his face. As they came off he noticed that the entire left side of his face was horribly scarred. Where once was smooth, perfect skin, now stood seven different spiderweb scars that all meshed together to create the horrid looking creature within the mirror. In spite of this he noticed that his wounds had fully healed, leaving behind only the scars. Holding his breath, Danny began to unwrap both his leg and arm, only to find the same thing as his face, to a much greater degree, on his appendages. Gazing at his left hand, where his two missing fingers used to be, made him quiver slightly. After removing all of the bandages he went back out into the room. There, sleeping in the most uncomfortable chairs ever built, was Sam. Still watching over him. Danny smiled and returned to bed, however his eyes never closed. He couldn't sleep, instead he simply stayed awake, reflecting on the dream he had.

As the sun rose Sam was awakened by the early morning rays of light as they danced off the window frame. Looking at the bed she noticed Danny was gone, she nearly jump up to hit the emergency alarm when she saw Danny, standing at the window, watching the sunrise. She was about to tell him to go back to bed, until she noticed that he wasn't wearing his bandages anymore. She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could Danny spoke up.

"How long was I out for this time?" Danny never looked at Sam. He just kept watching the beautiful golden disk rise up from behind the hills in the distance.

"This time it was four days." Sam said with a weary, and sorrowful, look in her eyes. Her tone shifted from sorrowful to annoyed and concerned. "Why are your bandages removed? And why are you out of bed?"

Danny didn't respond, at least not at first, he simply turned his face to Sam's. "Being half ghost is quite useful at times. Having all of the abilities of a ghost, and rapid healing, are just some of the perks." Sam gasped slightly upon seeing Danny's face. It was like looking at a clay sculpture that had yet to be smoothed out. However Danny was correct, she saw that all of Danny's wounds had completely healed, leaving behind only the ugly scar tissue.

"Oh Danny." Sam said as she got up from the chair. Without even thinking about it she ran over to Danny and jumped into his arms. To her joy, Danny opened his arms and caught her. New tears grew in her eyes, but they were not the tears of sorrow from before. These new tears were the tears of overwhelming joy. "Thank god you are alright." She said as she squeezed him tighter.

"Sorry for worrying you." Danny laughed lightly as he held her. Cutting the hug shorter than he would have liked, Danny pulled back. "Sam, I have something I need to do. Do you know if we still have the Infi-Map?"

Sam gave Danny a puzzled look. "Um, yeah." Sam paused momentarily as she wiped away the few tears that had formed. "I don't think we ever returned it to Frostbite after the 'Disateroid' incident. Why?"

"We are going to the Ghost Zone, I have some unfinished business." Danny looked her dead in the eye. He was no longer relaxed and carefree. His eyes burned with a fire, a fire that Sam had seen before in Dan's eyes. It was rage, pure and unbridled, however not unfocused. Who ever instilled this rage in him had no idea what they had done. Sam could not argue with Danny's will, she merely nodded her head in understanding, and walked with him to the check out counter.


End file.
